


By All Our Powers Combined (Or Something Like That)

by mercy_angel_09



Series: Once A Day [2]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Mild Angst, Romance, Slice of Life, Word of the Day Prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-10 20:49:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7005985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercy_angel_09/pseuds/mercy_angel_09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The misadventures of a politician and her bodyguard.</p>
<p>Ebay is not necessarily your friend. Sometimes it's just allergies. Somehow he always manages to do a number on her. He's the luckiest S.O.B. on the planet. Growing older is necessary, maturing is optional.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Duopsony

**Author's Note:**

> The theme of this collection is words that were coined by combining forms.

**Duopsony - a market condition in which there are only two buyers, thus exerting great influence on the price**

* * *

Heero was startled when a loud scream echoed throughout the Vice-foreign Minister’s mansion. Stomach dropping, he immediately suspected the worst and took off at a dead run towards the source. Kicking in the door to Relena’s room, his gun was drawn and ready to shoot on sight anyone who might be threatening her safety.

“Good God, Heero, what’s wrong with you?” she asked, standing at her desk. Her face was an interesting mix of amused and annoyed.

“I heard a scream,” he answered matter-of-factly as he began sweep the room for any danger.

“Oh,” she answered sheepishly. “Sorry about that. It’s nothing.”

Lowering his weapon, Heero turned towards her. “Define nothing.”

“Well, I was on one of those online auction sites and I found a listing for this doll I had a child. I have no idea what happened to my doll, so I thought I’d place a few bids to try to get a new one,” she explained. “The thing is I think I ended up in a bidding war with a collector because at the very last second they zoomed in and won. I, uh, was just expressing my irritation.”

“You screamed at the top of your lungs in the middle of the night,” he said coolly as he holstered his gun. “You can’t do that. It makes your security team think you’re being attacked.”

“And tell me, how exactly am I supposed to vent my frustration?” she asked him, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

“I find kickboxing very cathartic,” he answered, ignoring the frustration that was rolling off of her in waves.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she answered tightly. She turned to her door which was smashed in and there was no way it would be closing that night. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to gather up a few things and I’ll be sleeping in the blue room tonight.”

Now it was Heero’s turn to look sheepish. “I’ll get that taken care of first thing in the morning.”

“You’d better.”


	2. Hypochondriac

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, it's all in your head. Sometimes, it's a head cold.

**Hypochondriac - noun: One who is excessively and chronically preoccupied with imaginary or innocuous symptoms as indicators of some serious disease.**

* * *

 

“I think I’m getting sick.”

Three sets of eyes were suddenly trained on the Vice-foreign Minister.

“Are you sure it’s not allergies?” Sally asked, her brow furrowing. Relena looked fine.

“I know that there were a lot of delegates at that conference who were sniffling and coughing, but I figured it was just allergies with all of the flowers blooming,” Wufei noted.

“You’re over reacting,” Heero added.

“I am not! I think I’m coming down with a fever!” Relena insisted.

Sally placed one hand on Relena’s forehead and the other on her own. She held them there for a minute before shaking her head. “You’re imagining things.”

“No, I’m certain of it,” Relena frowned.

“Relena, I may not be practicing anymore, but I still have a medical doctorate. I think I would know if you were actually sick. You’re just psyching yourself out because everyone’s allergies are in full swing,” Sally explained. “Most of what you’re feeling is psychosomatic. Relax and you’ll feel better." 

She rarely pouted, but Relena felt that this was an appropriate time to do so. “Fine, but if I drop dead from a serious illness in a few days, it’ll be your fault for not taking me seriously.”

Wufei rolled his eyes to the sky and said a quick prayer in Chinese which caused Sally stifle her laughter. Heero had no idea what the former Altron pilot had said, but he could guess that it wasn’t very nice. “Relena, I think it’s time you took a vacation,” he said as he shifted in his seat. “You’re working too hard, and usually the first sign of that is you start imagining that you have very serious diseases.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Pot calling kettle,” came the retort. “Call your secretary, have her clear your schedule for the next two weeks.”

Relena glared at him, but he remained impassive. Finally she slumped and started pouting again. “Fine, I’ll call Jeanne when we get back to the hotel.”

Heero smirked. For someone who was known for being immovable in her political positions, Relean sure was easy to manipulate.


	3. Dysthymia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wears her heart on her sleeve, but somehow he's still oblivious to it.

**Dysthymia - a mild depression**

* * *

 

It should have been overcast and raining. It was much easier to feel sorry for herself when the weather reflected her mood. However the weather was not cooperating and was insisting on being annoyingly perfect. Not a single cloud in the vast expanse of blue sky promised sunshine and lots of it.

On the surface she often appeared to be doing just fine. She could smile and nod with the best of them, easing fears and worries with a gentle smile and a smoothly murmured line. Under the surface though, that was a completely different story. There was an analogy about a duck or a swan – she forgot which – and how on the surface they are serenely gliding along, all while paddling like hell underneath.

She was the duck or swan, gliding gracefully along the surface, but working like hell under the surface to make sure that the surface remained smooth as glass. With a groan, she pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window and looked out at the back yard.

Heero had really done a number on her this time. One would think that she’d be used to the way he popped in and out of her life, but every time he left it always left her feeling raw and exposed. He made her feel things that she had forgotten while he was away. He made her feel alive and complete, like there was more to her than just the politics. She felt blessedly normal when he was around, but the moment he left it was like she ceased to exist.

The cycle of depression had been part of her life for the last five years and she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be going away any time soon. Oh, her spirits would lift eventually, they always did, but the cloud that seemed to hang perpetually over her head would never go away. Not unless there was a very dramatic change in her life.


	4. Autologous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heero's always been lucky while on the job.

**Autologous - involving a situation in which the donor and the recipient (of blood, skin, bone, etc.) are the same person**

* * *

 

“You’re lucky,” Sally chastised as she placed the blood bag on hook. “Your blood type isn’t rare, but since we happened to have a bag that you donated, we don’t have to worry about your body rejecting it.”

Heero grunted, but didn’t say anything. Though Sally had left the medical field in favor of being a Preventer agent, she was the go to for field medicine. Like now, for example.

A tour of a provincial area had suddenly turned dangerous when a small group of self-proclaimed freedom fighters had attacked. Heero, ever diligent, had taken the bullet in the shoulder, but in the process had lost a lot of blood in the ensuing chaos. An emergency transfusion had been required to keep him from going into shock, and just his luck one of the bags brought had been his own blood.

When Sally left the medical tent, Relena moved her stool closer to the cot where Heero was laying. “I would normally make a comment here about how dumb that move was, but seeing as you were just doing your job and I wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for you...” She stared down at her hands in her lap. “Thank you, Heero.”

He grunted again. “Just doing what I’m paid for.”

Relena reached out and gently put her hand on his and squeezed.


	5. Gerontology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heero is ten million percent done with sexist bullshit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So technically these are a series of one shots. The five grouped together all come from a series based around a theme (for example this story has prompts that are words that were made by combining two meanings). However some of the one shots are tied together. I'm going to do my best to remember which ones are actually tied together and where they fall in the chronology. 
> 
> This one would be set shortly before Poseur, which won't be published until Part Six of this series (words that describe people). You don't actually have to read Poseur to get this one. The basic thing that you need to know is that, for damn near all of these, Heero is more or less employed as Relena's around the clock bodyguard. This means that they live together.
> 
> Shenanigans ensue.

**Gerontology - the scientific study of aging**

* * *

 

Sharing a bathroom with Relena had perks, Heero decided one lazy afternoon while she was curled up in her library with a good novel and he was putting away their recent drug store purchases. They had settled into an odd domestic state, and while they didn’t share a bedroom, their rooms were conjoined by a mutual bathroom.

At first he had been reluctant to do so – two members of the opposite sex sharing a bathroom who were not married had caused a bit of a commotion. But there was a comfortable brother/sister vibe between the vice-foreign minister and her top bodyguard, so most of the security team thought nothing of it. Oh, if only they knew. After the initial weirdness had worn off, they reached a level of comfortable that was far more intimate than anyone could ever guess. Shared showers were a common occurrence.

Back at the task at hand, Heero was putting away the various toiletries they had purchased that morning. If anyone ever wanted to know what the difference between a man and a woman, especially a woman in the public eye, was, all they had to do was look in a bathroom cupboard.

He kept it simple. Replacement heads for his electric toothbrush, a spare tube of toothpaste, replacement razors, shaving cream, bars of soap, and a stick of deodorant.

Relena’s side had jars and bottles of various creams to deal with whatever skin condition might happen, bottles of cleansers, wipes and pads, sponges and make-up brushes, an entire bag filled with cosmetics for every occasion, several bottles and vials of perfume and scented oils, and the dreaded feminine hygiene products. She had once told him that her bathroom was once sparsely populated by toiletries, but spending most of her time in front of the press had more or less demanded that she look her best at all times and the purchase of products to achieve that.

There were new jars and bottles of creams and serums to add to this already massive stockpile, nearly all of them labeled anti-aging and wrinkle prevention.

“What the hell?” he muttered angrily as he grabbed the closest jar and booked it down to the library.

Relena was curled up in one of the large wingback chairs with a blanket over her lap, thoroughly engrossed in the antics Regency era England. She was so far into the book that she jumped when Heero slammed the door open. She was so startled she looked around in panic until she saw him standing in the door with a stern look on his face. “Sheesh, you don’t have to slam the door, Heero.”

“What the hell is this?” he demanded as he walked to her, thrusting the jar in her face.

“Moisturizer for my face,” Relena answered blankly.

“Anti-wrinkle moisturizer for your face,” he corrected.  “You’re only twenty-four, Relena.”

Her eyebrows shot up as she smiled in amusement as his concern. “It’s mostly preventative.”

“You look fine,” he spat back.

“I’m flattered that you of all people have noticed,” she said as she folded down the page corner of her book and then snapped it shut. “However, the minute I start showing wrinkles the press is going to be all over me like starving dog on a steak. My job is high stress and it’s starting to show.”

“You’re just being overly sensitive,” he muttered.

“Overly sensitive? ‘Overly sensitive’ he says as if there’s not an issue here,” she nearly screeched as she stood up. Getting face to face with him, she poked him in the chest. “I have frown lines that no girl my age should have! These creams and serums are the best in the market to treat the signs of aging and there’s a mountain of research to back it up!”

He rolled his eyes. “Wrinkles give you character.”

“Well I’m glad you think so, but the rest of the world is no so kind, Mister Yuy,” she snarled. She stomped past him, most likely to go sulk in her bedroom.

With a sigh, Heero ran a hand through his messy hair. Didn’t she know that even with a few frown lines she was still the most beautiful person he had ever met? Realizing that he would have to apologize, he started back up to the bedrooms while formulating a proper response to her frustrations.

He found her bedroom door locked from the hallway, so he took the other approach. The door to the conjoining bathroom was closed, but it locked from within the bathroom so there was no way she could truly lock him out. He twisted the handle and then pulled, gracefully stepping out the way when a chair fell back towards his feet.

“Damn it!” she growled as she glowered at Heero’s form standing completely still in the doorway.

“The doors open in, Relena,” he said as he picked up the chair and placed it back against the wall. He took a deep breath and stared his friend down. “I understand that you’re worried about your appearance but it shouldn’t matter. You’re beautiful inside and out and if the tabloids feel otherwise, I might feel obligated to remind them that they’re ugly inside and out.”

She snorted.

“I understand why women feel this compulsive need to always look like they just stepped out of a magazine, but in my opinion it’s not worth it. You’re going to spend a small fortune on products that may or may not work, because a handful of doctors say so,” he said with far more passion that he was used to using when addressing her.

She blinked at him, unsure of where his sudden rant had come from. It was so unlike him to butt into her personal matters, at least her personal matters that didn’t deal directly with her safety. “You cannot be serious,” she murmured in disbelief.

He sighed. “I keep my distance for a reason, Relena. Personal feeling can cloud judgment and impair my abilities, so I keep them separated from work, but that hardly means that I don’t care. And as to all of these ridiculous creams and lotions, I feel that you’re being paranoid.”

She gave a dry chuckle. “Of course you do. Men get wrinkles and they’re dignified. Women get wrinkles and suddenly we’re old maids who worked too much to have the even more fulfilling career of having a family.”

“That’s beside the point, Relena,” he said gently as he approached her. “If your career is driving you to use products that are common with women the same age as your mother, then maybe you should consider a change.”

“I am not changing my lotion.”

“I meant that maybe you should take a sabbatical, or even consider retirement from the political arena.”

She looked at him like he had sprouted another head or perhaps had professed his undying love for her. “You cannot be serious.”

He nodded. “I am. You’ve been running yourself ragged since you were sixteen. I doubt anyone would fault you for taking a break.”

“But…”

“No buts, Relena. I think some time off would do you good. Take the money that you’re spending on anti-aging products and put it towards a long vacation.”

She looked thoughtful as she carefully considered Heero’s suggestion. Following the end of the Eve War she had stepped into the role vacated by her foster father, hoping to carry on his legacy. It was fulfilling, but it left her with little personal time. Perhaps he had a point and that a long, much deserved vacation was in order. She took a deep breath and slowly released it before answering. “You might have a point.”

“Might?” One eyebrow cocked up.

“I think a year-long sabbatical might be in order, and after that I’ll see if I’m up to jumping back into the political arena,” she conceded. “Does that satisfy you?”

He nodded.

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some phone calls to make.” She headed down to her office to start making the appropriate calls to hand in her temporary resignation, leaving Heero alone in her bedroom with a small smile on his face.

Perhaps he could finally convince her to clean out all of the crap from underneath the bathroom sinks.


End file.
